The Things They Carried 8 - Row Discussion pgs. 131-154
Speaking of Courage
"The town could not talk, and would not listen...It had no memory, therefore no guilt."
The Things They Carried - Row Discussion pgs 131-154 : WARNING: Some of these chapters deal with suicide - and it is advisable to consider this when teaching this part of the book. Like "On the Rainy River" - the chapter called "Speaking of Courage" is one of the most powerful and moving of the book - and I believe the two chapters are closely related. The choice that Tim (the character) makes at the Rainy River comes to head in many ways in this chapter - the consequences - and what he could have done if he had been brave enough to follow his heart. The descriptions for these lessons are going to be, pretty much... the same. We will discuss that day's reading - starting with the students. Every student (who read) will have a chance to contribute. One thing that I found, is the fact that they will have to directly contribute to the discussion, makes it even more likely that the students will do the reading (they still get a quiz though). After a the students have their say - the teacher gets a chance to bring in anything they may have missed. Of course - they will say so many brilliant things that some of them get added to the lesson - for the next year (or the next period).
Lesson Overview
The class begins - as most classes do - with a quiz. After the quiz, we begin at one end of the room and go down each row (columns, really). The student will give their comment, question, quote, link - or whatever (they have five prepared (by having five prepared, if someone else takes their favorite thing they want to bring up, they have four backups) - see my page on Class Discussions). Here is the description from the handout they received (and I will repost below as well) for their preparation instructions:
You will be responsible for having reread/gone over your chapter (based on your row number) and having ideas, quotes, comments, questions, observations ready to bring into our discussion in class. We are counting on you For that chapter you must find the following: THIS time – you must have really good example, and they must be written out on a sheet of paper, though that sheet of paper may just explain your point and reference the quote so it can be easily found in your book. We can’t waste time while you look for the text that your point is referencing. You must FIND all 5 of these – not just one – though you can find more than these.
0. The plot of the story/chapter that your page numbers occur within
1. Two notable quotes that are important to the story. Be ready to get a discussion going on the quote – why is it important? The quotes may “make you think,” “be related to something else,” or “just be pretty!”
2. A connection to earlier in the book – something that references back to what we read earlier – or becomes clearer – or deepens or explain a mystery from earlier in the reading – or that gives us more insight into a character – this can be a quote, an idea, an image, even a phrase. Think of previous chapters.
3. Connections to other works include – (“Soldier’s Home”, Candide, The History of Love, The Graduate, “The Night Face Up”, “The Metamorphosis”, “The Allegory of the Cave”, Everything is Illuminated (movie), The Return of Martin Guerre (movie),the poems we read (from all of the works we’ve covered)- and any other work of Literary Merit – including books (ie Grendel), plays (Macbeth) from last year. I expect a lot in terms of these connections – they should be significant (not superficial) and show an awareness that while the connections were not intentional (what really is) the connections themselves show a grasp of many of the ideas that we’ve covered in World Literature up to this point.
4.Any other comments, questions, or ideas that occur to you about your chapter. Again, these should be specific, significant, and often subtle and powerful. Be thoughtful. Big things may include the chapter titles.
We then begin at the front of the room - in the first row (column) and complete their reading section. For instance, on Day 1 of Row Reading - Row 1 has the Chapter called "Love". We go through that Row - and that section of reading - every student giving their favorite (best?) of the 5 specific pieces they have prepared. After the student makes their comment (or quote, connection, question, etc) a short discussion should ensue. Short is the key word here as you want to make sure that you have enough time to get to every student in the classroom. Sometimes, and this is so great, a student will raise their hand and say that their item - addresses what the student just said - so the teacher needs to be flexible. The more organic the discussion, the better. After the row is done - I bring up any parts from that section ("Love" in this case) that the students didn't get to - and that I feel is very important. I must admit - in most cases most of the items I want to discuss, get brought up by the students first - which is always preferrable.
IMPORTANT: I also inform the students - at the beginning of the first day of Row Reading Discussion, but I also periodically remind them. That if they didn't finish the reading, they should physically move to a Row - of where they did get to - and prepare one thing to say. I like the procedure a lot. You are not punishing the students for not having done the reading - and you really want to engage them and hear their voice on the book - which, in turn, makes it more likely that they will do the reading next time.
My notes on the day's reading & a sample reading page
Again, these notes of mine are given at the appropriate time (after the row of students give their thoughts) - I will post a blank copy below so you can do the same. As always - I try to give these ideas through the least pointed questions possible - allowing as much student critical - thinking as possible. In some of these - there will be different numeration next to the Rows (some classes are smaller than others, and it's easy to adjust).
ROW READING for 155 -179 PDF (in case you want to expand)
These can also be found in the next lesson - however, if you are block or want to expand what you cover in one period - I've included them here (and I used them that way). You will notice a separate set of Row #'s in Green for an expanded reading that cover 131 - 179 (also using the Row Reading notes above)
This is for teachers to make their own notes on the section.
See above for instructions - the text with my notes served as a guide for the questions, comments and ideas that I ask - though I was always ready for and often elicited the students ideas, questions, etc. Over the years - as I wrote notes in this text - the previous years' notes and questions become incorporated into the lesson. Again - you will find that these instructions are flexible - and I had to be - they kept changing the amount of time that we had in the classroom.
Handouts & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Row Reading Schedule for the rest of the book Docx PDF - This schedule will instruct the students what they will need to have prepared (on a sheet of paper - with the text and the page number) for that day in class. They are to read everything that is assigned and take notes on anything in the reading - but when we have a class discussion, they need to have five things prepared (see the handout for what 5 things) from this specific section based on where they sit in the classroom. This handout is in addition to the bookmark that they have which tells them what they will be quizzed on. What they are to bring in (the 5 things) are especially designed to help them make connections in the novel - and to spark discussion.
Reading Quiz pages 131-154 : Docx PDF
Reading Quiz pages 155-179 : Docx PDF (in case you are expanding the reading)
Remote Enhancements
See the Opening Lesson for how I put students into Rows remotely. In my case it was actually the rows from the Gallery View of Google Meet.
Links
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Audio
Video
The Things They Carried Day 9 - Row Reading Thru page 155-179: At the beginning of the book, there is a mention of the "thing" that cannot be discussed. I believe today's reading is about that incident - what happens in the field. But what is so great is that throughout the book there are candidates for what that "thing" is - and even here - it is not definitive - but perhaps, Tim's (the character's) interaction with his daughter - is.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
The discussion of "Speaking of Courage" calls for a lot of delicacy on the part of the teacher. I know that I have spoken to more sensitive students before - and to students that have been personally or indirectly involved with suicide. I am a firm believer in catharsis - but I also believe in emotionally arming readers - and letting them make their own decisions.